Under the Sea - Watercolor Resist

It was a pleasure working with seven year old Rachel last week on an "Under the Sea" watercolor resist painting. Rachel's concentration and inclusion of detail paid off in the beautiful results she achieved. Brava, Rachel!

Here's how we did it:

UNDER THE SEA WATERCOLOR RESIST

Materials:

Watercolor paper, approx 11"x15"

Oil pastels, select any light and bright colors, except for dark blue

Blue liquid watercolor paint

Thick watercolor brush

Water container & water

Water spray bottle, optional

Procedure:

1. Using oil pastels, draw an imaginary underwater scene, including any of the following: fish, whales, sharks, crabs, eels, sand, seaweed, coral, bubbles... and use imaginary colors and patterns.

2. Make your lines bold and solid by pressing hard as you draw, and go over your lines a second time to make a thick layer of oil pastel on the paper. Be sure to leave some areas on your paper white.

3. Dip your brush into the liquid watercolor, and let it gently glide right over your drawing. You'll notice that your bright oil pastels lines resist the watercolor, and will pop out from the watercolor wash. Use plenty of paint, and allow puddles to form and dry in place.

4. While the paint is still damp, you can create interesting patterns by using the water spray bottle to squirt a few random sprays on your painting. (Don't overdo this step, as too much water will dilute your blue paint.)

5. Allow your painting to dry flat.

Recycled Beverage Caps: Real Wheels

Here's a fun way to recycle the small plastic lids (washed and dried) from milk or juice containers.

REAL WHEELS

Materials:

Assorted scrap mat board pieces

Black Sharpie pen

Watercolor paints

Watercolor paintbrush

Water container

Small clean plastic lids from milk or juice containers

Awl or sharp punch tool (to be used only by adults)

Brass fasteners, 1'' long

Procedure:

1. Using a Black Sharpie (permanent) pen, do a line drawing of a scene showing a vehicle that has wheels (car, truck, bus, bicycle, etc.). Don't draw the wheels, but do add other details to make your drawing interesting.

2. Paint your scene with watercolors, using realistic or fantasy colors. Try letting the wet colors run into each other and mix on their own. Your black lines will show through the watercolor paints. Allow to dry.

3. To make each wheel in your picture, use the awl to punch a hole in the middle of a plastic lid. Punch a hole through the mat board where the wheel will be attached. Push a brass fastener through the lid and through the hole in the board. On the back of the board, open the prongs of the fastener and flatten them against the board. Each wheel will be able to turn!

You can use other lids for anything round in your painting, such as the sun, or a clock. You can also use your Sharpie to draw details on the lids themselves. Another possibility is to make an abstract painting of any colors and designs you choose, and add turning wheels anywhere you'd like.

Picasso Strikes a Chord at MoMA

I saw a great exhibit at MoMA today called Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914. It focuses on Pablo Picasso's many paintings, drawings and collages of guitars and violins. My favorite pieces in the show are the cardboard and paper and the sheet metal constructions of the instruments. When he first made them, no one had seen art works made from such humble materials before, and people questioned whether they were sculptures or paintings. Picasso answered, "They're just GUITARS!"

Some of Picasso's constructions and paintings reminded me of a project I did last year with elementary art students. First, I asked the children to draw a violin from careful observation. Then I gave them a wide range of materials (watercolors, oil pastels, cardboard, yarn, wire, colored papers, etc.) to add imaginary or realistic color to their drawings. I named the project, "Various Violins," because, as you can see from the photographs, the variety of interpretations was huge - which was exactly the point of the assignment. It showed kids that although each artist started out drawing the same violin, there were endless ways to interpret it, and each way was valuable.

Think about doing a painting or drawing of a musical instrument, maybe one that you play, and try adding imaginary colors or three-dimensional collage elements (yarn, buttons, cardboard) to make your drawing original. Remember, there are many ways to create a work of art. No matter what age you are, as an artist you must find your own unique way to create. I highly recommend the Picasso exhibition at MoMA as a fun family outing. It will inspire you!

Brushes painting brushes

I recently worked with a talented adult student who is beginning to explore watercolor, after having done some beautiful charcoal drawings and a first time acrylic painting. Although watercolor is often described as an "unforgiving" medium, we're both enjoying its transparency and sometimes unpredictability. What better choice of medium is there to depict the transparency of colored glass than transparent watercolor?

It's not necessary to purchase expensive materials to get excellent results with watercolors. Check out the Yarka set of twelve colors. It's a good quality, inexpensive set which is appropriate for both children and adults. Using decent watercolor paper will enhance your results too.

Winter Resist

Inwha & Shira a creative mother and daughter duo study art with me. They worked on these delightful oil pastel resists in response to the snowy winter we're experiencing.

First they drew heavily with oil pastels on watercolor paper, and then applied watercolor over the colored lines. The watercolors find their way to any uncolored patches of paper, and allow the oil pastels to pop through the paint.

We added salt to areas of wet paint to achieve the effect of random "snowy" patterns. Another technique we experimented with was spraying clear water into wet paint for additional beautiful patterns.

Art Party

I was invited to present an art lesson at the home of former school students. Since everyone was getting a little tired of all the snow we've been having, we began by creating summery beach scenes, using oil pastel & watercolor resist techniques. The fact that there was a variety of ages in the participants made for more variety in the paintings.

Watercolor resist is one of my favorite techniques to introduce to both children and adults. When wax crayon or oil pastel lines are applied heavily to paper, watercolor washes painted on top of the drawing allow those lines to pop through the paint. It's a dramatic and magical process which fascinates young and older artists alike!